Premier Farnell Q3 profit tumbles

Electronic products firm Premier Farnell posted a 17.8% decline in third quarter profit and said while it remains cautious on the global economic outlook, the business responded well to the challenging environment.

Pre-tax profit in the quarter ended 30 October fell to £19.4m from £23.6m the year before. Total revenue fell to £241.8 during the period from £251.3m previously. Operating profit was down at £25.8m from £27.4m.

Premier Farnell said it was a "Resilient performance in line with our expectations as we focus on cost control and return on sales in a challenging environment."

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Overhead costs year to date are down by £4m while third quarter gross margin fell 2.1% at 38.6%.

The UK saw growth of 4.2% during the quarter, while Europe as a whole grew 0.6% year on year.

November sales per day showed progression on the third quarter but remained down from November last year.

Chief executive Harriet Green commented, "Through focus on the strategic delivery of our key metrics - web penetration, growing our EDE active customer base and growth in profitable MRO segments - Premier Farnell has proven its resilience and agility through the economic cycle, maintaining an industry leading return on sales and with a track record of acting swiftly and decisively to shape our business."

"This will allow us to continue to generate cash and benefit strongly from the recovery when confidence returns."

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